On February 17, cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar made a pit stop at Charsoo village along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and visited a bat manufacturing unit. Tendulkar’s visit garnered significant media attention and put the spotlight on the Kashmiri bat industry.

Professional cricketers usually choose English willow bats. However, over the last few years, Kashmiri willow has been attracting global attention after its appearance in international games.

Fawzul Kabiir, owner of GR8 sports and spokesperson of the Cricket Bat Manufacturers Association of Kashmir, said that at least 37 international cricketers, both men and women, had played with brand ‘GR8’ bats so far.

Following the breakthrough, the demand for Kashmiri willow bats has shot up significantly. In 2021-2022, at least 35,000 bats were exported from the Valley.

The ₹700-crore Kashmiri bat industry provides livelihood to more than 10,000 people. However, it is facing challenges on several fronts.

Challenges

According to bat makers, the smuggling of willow cleft outside the Valley is hurting the industry. Dozens of trucks ferry the smuggled clefts into cities like Amritsar and Meerut each month.

Although the Government, in 2000, enacted the Jammu and Kashmir Willow (Prohibition on Export and Movement) Act 2000, which prohibits the transfer of willow wood outside the Valley, thousands of clefts are being smuggled unchecked daily.

“The smuggling goes unabated under the nose of the authorities. It has become a serious concern for indigenous manufacturers,” Kabiir told businessline.

The manufacturers have demanded a blanket ban on the smuggling of willow clefts from the Valley. The dwindling number of willow trees is another significant concern for the over 400 bat makers of the region, who make around two million bats annually. Over the last few decades, no major plantation drives have been carried out by the government. The depletion of raw materials is likely to deal a severe blow to the industry.

Another reason is that farmers are more inclined towards growing poplar trees than willows.

Mheraj-u-din Dar, a local craftsman, said that a few decades ago around 60 to 70 per cent of farmers in Sangam area, which houses a majority of bat manufacturing units, used to grow willow trees “but it is on a sharp decline now”.

“Farmers shifted towards cultivating poplars due to their faster growth cycle. They mature in barely five to seven years, compared to willow trees, which takes 20 to 25 years to mature,” Dar said.

The bat manufacturers suggested that the government launch a massive and sustainable willow plantation drive on the wetlands.

“Kashmir has around 9,152 hectares of wetlands. It can be used to grow the willows,” Kabiir said.

No seasoning plant

To take the moisture out of the willow clefts, Kashmiri bat makers rely on time-consuming sun-drying in the absence of a seasoning plant.

More than a decade ago, the government had established a seasoning plant in the area but it was damaged during the 2014 floods and has remained non-operational since.

“It takes six to seven months to dry the moisture from willow clefts,” said Javed Ahmad, owner of the MJS bat manufacturing unit, which was visited by Tendulkar. Ahmad said the government must introduce state-of-the-art machinery for an efficient seasoning process.

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